HALion Sonic at a Glance
HALion Sonic is Steinberg’s premier VST workstation that breaks new ground in terms of performance, versatility and ease of use. Over a thousand instrument sounds created by top sound experts at Yamaha and Steinberg offer a staggering array of first class synths, hybrid and acoustic instruments, covering almost any conceivable style. HALion Sonic is the long-anticipated successor to the highly acclaimed Hypersonic 2 workstation, and allows you to work more productively than ever before. Exclusive and comprehensive world-class content, an intuitive interface for seamless handling and the sheer endless possibilities of creating entirely new landscapes deliver truly unlimited sonic dimensions.
Top Features
- Easy-to-use yet powerful premier music and production workstation for synthesized sounds and breathtaking recreation of acoustic instruments
- Outstanding library including over 1,400 instrument sounds created by top sound experts at Steinberg and Yamaha
- Powerful multi-timbral VST 3 audio-engine with 4 different modes: disk-streaming sample playback, highend virtual analog synthesis, dedicated sliced-loop and drum mode
- Unique morphing filters seamlessly blend between up to 4 of 24 filter shapes
- FlexPhraser module for dynamically driving beats, arpeggios and complex tonal phrases
- Wide range of audio effects on board, including REVerence convolution reverb
- Integrated MediaBay sound management system
- Stage optimized: dedicated player view, rapid building of keyboard splits or layers, and switching of entire multisetups with a single command
- Full VST Expression 2 support for smart articulation editing in Cubase 6
- Cross platform: Windows (VST 3, VST 2.4) and Mac OS X (VST 3, VST 2.4, AU) plug-in support, including professional standalone
Performance to the Power of 4
The exquisite sound engine that powers HALion Sonic builds on Steinberg’s latest sampling and synthesis technologies and offers four extremely powerful, yet easy-to-use sound engine modes at its core: high performance Disk-Streaming Sample Playback for breathtaking recreation of acoustic instruments including all articulations, a dedicated Sliced-Loop mode for using and abusing loop-based beats, a special Drum mode with all the tools needed to produce studio-grade drum tracks, and finally a complete and fully editable Virtual Analog Synthesis Engine offering multiple oscillator types and full access to all sound-sculpting parameters for the most demanding synthesis experts.
HALion Sonic’s flexible sound architecture includes unique morphing filters which seamlessly blend between up to four of the 24 different filter shapes and guarantees new sonic levels. Virtually unlimited polyphony provides enough creative headroom to max out the Multi Program Rack with up to 16 individual programs sounding at the same time. Each program and even each layer features its own effect rack with a total of four insert slots fueled by one of the 16 effect types, including gems such as REVerence or the or the exceptionally sounding rotary cabinet emulation.
World-Class Content
HALion Sonic redefines quality and variety for workstation instruments with its 1,400 instrument sounds across 13 GB of uncompressed custom-recorded samples. Created by the Yamaha sound design team behind Yamaha’s legendary MOTIF synthesizers, this world-class library with up to 20 articulations per instrument covers an enormous range of styles, all the way from finest detailed acoustic instruments to legendary synthesizers, club sounds and soundscapes, from ultra-realistic acoustic drum kits to the latest electronic beats.
All included sounds with articulations feature real-time control and support for Steinberg’s VST Expression 2, delivering easy articulation and controler editing in and tight integration with Cubase 6. The massive library also includes over 1,500 patterns for the FlexPhraser module that drives beats, arpeggios and complex tonal phrases, plus automatic articulation switching.
The highly intuitive design of the integrated MediaBay sound management system means you search less and produce more, with immediate access to any sound within the huge content library in the blink of an eye.
Unprecedented Control and Flexibility
HALion Sonic reaches a new level in intuitive handling and control, thanks to its clear and transparent layout. Each instrument sound comes with predefined Quick Controls for fast and effective sound tweaking of layers and programs.
The eight SoftPads not only allow you to trigger specific notes, but also to take snapshots of chords which can then be triggered in different sequence for various chord progressions.
In the Studio HALion Sonic is the go-to composition and production instrument, offering the complete range of soundshaping and creative editing features expected from studiograde instruments. Yet, HALion Sonic also shines when
performing live: building keyboard splits and layers to layout, for example, bass, piano and a lead sound across the keyboard is absolutely effortless thanks to the many visual help functions.
Almost any parameter can be tweaked live using a MIDI controller. Programs and even entire Multi-Setups can be switched with a single key or push of a button on a master keyboard. With the so called Multi-Chain feature, entire Multi-Setups can step through a list of up to 128 predefined Multi Programs. The included standalone application and the dedicated player view ensure that the artist is always in full command while performing on stage.
Testimonials of our beta-testers
“- The sounds are way better than anything else that Steinberg ever produced.
- I like the fact [that] keyswitches [are] being used (->pro!)
- The Organs kick ass!
- The synth engine sounds very good (analog) to me
- The FX section is very good
- Love the quick access knobs!”
“Best fun is just hooking up keyboard and jamming on it — really cool sounds.”
“That's (for me) the cool thing about HS — not only can you edit every factory program so that it fits perfectly — this is easy. From the first Alpha on I was fascinated how straightforward it is to get into the editor and understand how the layers work and how the program is constructed - and then tickle it into my "personal perfect" - even without touching the Docs. I think this is one of the main coolness of HS - it's nearly no effort to understand. Okay, for the _real_ highness (FlexP?) I have to glance in the manual, but the "building blocks" are really easy to find. I fully understood the synth section of HS. Simple and yet powerful. I had more fun playing with this than with my Radias, though the Radias has tons of buttons and I love buttons :-)”
“I've been a HALion user for many years. And the HALion Sonic samples simply amaze me as I preview each patch. And the amount and way one can modify them is a pleasure. Flawless, intuitive interface.”
“Excellent piece of software indeed. And despite of my initial doubts the sound quality is nothing short but excellent!”
“Stunning piece of kit. It is an excellent tool. Very deep and useful.”
“For years I heard folks raving about Hypersonic. As a result of my beta-testing experience with HALion Sonic, I now completely understand why. The elegant design, the ease of use and the broad range of excellent sounds make for a satisfying user experience. The sounds are inspiring. As soon as I load up the first sound, I'm already "in gear..." The HS palette is rich and diverse. I can' wait for this to hit the market.”
“I'll add a +1 to that — Final is very stable here, and solid sound design throughout too.”
“Oh, man, sorry about the blather — but I'm working on a Rhumba (Andalusion Malfouf) for my friend. The Nylon Guitar effects are awesome! High string XXL with harmonics, fret noises, all on one channel! It'll put you right there in the Cabaret!The learning curve is gentle, very gentle, and it makes it easy to use. No need to understand waveforms, oscillators, all that, so non-techies should love this. I'm finding myself using this far more than most of my (many) synth plug-ins, as it is quicker, far, far quicker to put together a good sound. Been a blast. Wish I could've reported more bugs for Steinberg, but I can't fault good engineering! Incredible box of sounds.”
“Just put together a quick post score for a short video yesterday and this morning and used HALion Sonic. It was really nice to be able to have so many great high quality sounds in one VST. It was also very easy to use the multiple outputs to route the drumkits and other sounds which again increases the overall value and desirability for this instrument. It will definitely be in a lot of users start up Template or the go-to plug-in to start with creating ideas. Great job overall. Thanks again for all the new patches!!! The sounds are really fabulous and the ability to work with them in powerful ways will set it apart in some very exciting ways and hopefully open up new avenues of creativity. Those looking for a workstation replacement VST will be very pleased with this instrument. I have been very thankful to have been a part of team.”
“I was paging through some of the sounds in stand-alone mode, and thought I'd try to assign the 8 MIDI sliders on my controller to the 8 control knobs and see if they were persistent. Turns out that they are — if I call up new sounds into a slot, the controller MIDI assignment stay active. I have been having a lot of fun on the percussion sounds - playing loops while adjusting filter settings live sounds like a lot of stuff i hear on the radio every day. I also tried this with motion based pads, and came up with some really evocative soundscapes. VERY nice job. … I don't think people often stop to appreciate that the work of putting a complicated technical product together is just as much of a passionate and creative enterprise as making music…”
“Sounds are nice, congrats to the whole HALion Sonic team. For sure a nice synth and sample player. I love the design, and the samples sound great!”